i know, the interview with Gail Zappa is already almost a month old. But let me explain

I was washing the dishes tonight and listening to John McLaughlin/Mahavishnu's "Birds of Fire" CD, and imagining how fun it would be to orchestrate and play some of those tunes with only acoustic instruments. 

That, in turn, reminded me of my desire to play many of Zappa's tunes with acoustic instruments. (I have two concert CDs of his that I use as motivation while cleaning up after dinner...)

But the desire is cooled when I thought of how Gail Zappa, Frank's widow, gets so bent out of shape about people playing his music. Here's the latest word from her:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102907874

The section that sticks in my craw is:

"Somebody goes out there, plays music — it's not played very well; it doesn't sound anything like what the composer intended," she says. "And they are telling the audience that's never heard it before that this is Frank Zappa's music. It's not. It's some wretched version of it."

Of course, I can see Gail's POV: one doesn't want lame performances of his music sullying his reputation. 

But when you hear 10 year olds in Guitar Center desperately trying to play "Stairway to Heaven", you just think to yourself "Kid, go HOME and practice." It doesn't make you think "So THAT's how Zep's music sounds? I hate that band."

Any cover band that attempts "Peaches En Regalia" gets an immediate bonus point in my book, especially if they play the harder/faster parts. If they die onstage...they die onstage! Nobody is going to feel good after limping through Zappa's -- or anyone's -- music onstage. 

Gail's comments and behavior are reminiscent of Karlheinz Stockhausen's feeling that he would have to be involved with a performance of his music for it to be totally legit. In any case, perform Stockhausen's music live, and it's likely you'll get a bill from GEMA (the German performance rights organization). Just ask Beth Custer.

But that kind of model doesn't fit in the case of Zappa's work. Legally, musicians can perform his work without restriction once the piece has been recorded. (Recording and publishing the work is a different story...) In this case, all Gail is doing is sullying the legacy of Frank Zappa by threatening those musicians who enjoy playing his music. Those intrepid musicians who bust ass to transcribe and learn those pieces. Those musicians that are keeping the music alive, as Frank allegedly told Ike Willis. [*warning: Personal story at the end of this post.]

Sure Frank hated to hear his music played incorrectly, badly, sloppily, etc. That's why he turned to the Synclavier to realize his work later in his career. But I have a hard time imagining that he'd want a scenario in which only his heirs could sanctify a performance of his music before it could be heard. Imagine what he'd say if Stravinsky's or Varese's families had such an attitude!

Rather, I think it would be in the best interests of everyone involved -- the Zappa Family Trust, Zappa's fans, and the musicians that want to play his music -- if Gail and the Trust would host a yearly festival of Frank's music. Have the invited groups play in an appropriate venue (which would also mean that the Zappa family could get performance royalties from the shows), and charge a premium so that it not only covers costs, but makes enough money to grow.

Then, invite the bands that take Frank's music seriously. Perhaps have a contest for young composers where the winner would get to have her or his piece played in the festival by the same ensemble doing The Yellow Shark. Sell Barking Pumkin merch. Publish his scores and sell them at the shows.

You see where I'm going with this.

Take the work of one of the most important composers of the last century and keep it alive. It doesn't need a purpose-built facility to do it in, like Wagner's Bayreuth Festspeilhaus. (Although, doing such a festival in Europe might make some sense based on the number of fine concert halls there, as well as the openness to new music in the minds of the general population.)

Personal angle: back in the '80s, when I was an undergraduate at the University of Redlands, I was excited to read (I believe in Keyboard magazine) that, by calling a special 800 number I could get ahold of someone at Barking Pumpkin and buy some of Frank's scores. Numerous attempts to get ahold of someone through the officially published number failed. So, it was back to the drawing board for more careful listening and transcribing. Ultimately, that probably taught me more and stretched my ears. But it sure would've been nice to see what the composer had written.

I remember seeing a press release that a major publisher had taken up Frank's catalog. Can't seem to locate the link. Anyone remember?